After-Christmas sales, help wanted, breaking political news from the nation’s capital…daily life in January, 1789, 226 years ago, doesn’t seem on the surface all that different from our own, according to The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, the nation’s first daily newspaper. But the capital isn’t Washington, D.C., it’s New York City. George Washington hasn’t even been inaugurated yet; that’s coming in April, four months hence. And forget Bush vs. Clinton 2.0; Alexander Hamilton just received the greatest number of nominating votes to serve as a Congressional delegate, while those Muhlenberg brothers, Peter “General Pete” and Frederick Augustus, were elected from Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, January 1, 1789
The Pennsylvania Packet is only one of Special Collections’ more than 150 historical newspapers, which provide a glimpse into the everyday life of generations past. For every familiar component, such as this list of goods for sale, is something slightly odd….
For example, why does the second line of this ad read “Juft arrived?” “A few Chefts”… What’s a “cheft?” Prior to 1800, two forms of the letter “S” were used; one we still use today, but the other, the “long S,” fell into disuse. Stretched so long that it resembled an “f,” was used at the beginning or in the middle of words, with our familiar “S” appearing at the end. This seems to have caused confusion 200 years ago also, because type manufacturers began phasing it out between 1795 and 1805.
And why are the prices in unrecognizable characters? How much is “12fp?” The United States Mint and the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the dollar as the currency of the new states, had not yet come into being. The monetary system still in place was that of England.
And for anyone interested in going into the import/export business: maybe you’d like to buy a ship? Complete with a load of orange peel?
We can get an idea of what household object were valued by looking at this detailed list of stolen items. The was the quickest form of social media of its day: merchants and tradesmen were reading the Packet daily as a vital component of their business. Any of these items brought into their shops by someone looking to make a quick sale would raise a red flag.
Not all of the headlines and ads make for easy reading, however. Amongst a New Year’s poem, an excerpt from a novel about the Far East, and an advertisement for “good leather fire buckets for Fire-Companies or individuals” are printed two ads offering slaves for sale. In 1780, Pennsylvania had passed An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, the first such state law in the nation. “Gradual” meant that the children born to slaves would now be free, but the parents would remain in slavery. Slave numbers dwindled over the next 50 years, but the practice was not fully abolished until 1847.
Our historical newspaper collection spans the late-18th, the 19th, and the early 20th centuries, and includes titles from the Northampton Farmer to the New-York Herald. Please contact Special Collections for further information or to set up an appointment.
